Killing the One More Year Syndrome
One of the greatest fears of someone who is retiring early is the fear that they’ll run out of money. While it’s a valid fear, if you’re doing the reset when you’re in your 30s or 40s, then you’re likely going to make more money after you reset. If you’re reaching it by this age, you’ve likely been a saver so adjusting budgets after the reset is also a possibility.
I feel like because I wasn’t in a great place at work and wasn’t growing or with a boss, it made it easier to say I’m ready to leave. I did hit my FI goal, however I also wasn’t very good at estimating what my expenses post-reset would be, and it’s been 6 months and I still don’t really. I’m not maintaining a permanent residence. I’m not able to travel abroad due to COVID restrictions yet. I don’t really know what the future holds for me, but I do know I’ll be fine financially. I’m adaptable and can adjust my living expenses, if I spend more time with family and friends or go to a lower cost of living country. But my secret is…
I’m 32! I know I’ll make money doing something in the future. I’m not dead and I need to keep my body and my mind active!
I know that some people actively like their job, if that’s the case then by all means continue to work or if you want to scale back, ask if there is an opportunity for a sabbatical or to go part-time. If you’re in the other group that likes the people they work with and hate to let people down, resetting and doing what is best for yourself and your situation is what matters. The people who really do like you will wish you well because what we do want in life is for those people we care about to be happy. If they aren’t wishing you best wishes then, you don’t really want them in your life anyways.
Recently I listened to the audiobook Die with Zero by Bill Perkins, and while I struggled to agree with everything in the book, it brings up a lot of great points. It goes into how we have 3 things: money, time, and health, and there are certain activities that can only be done during specific times in our lives. We need to do things during the right decades or periods of our lives. For example, we most likely won’t be climbing Mount Everest after 60, or staying in hostels on a trip abroad. Those trips are going to inherently be more expensive as your lifestyle increases. It’s still important to fill your life with memories which you can look back on and get residual joy from these activities while you’re still healthy enough to enjoy them.
So if you’re wavering and struggling with the one more year syndrome, now is the time to enjoy the most out of your life. Tomorrow isn’t promised, and your health or family’s health isn’t guaranteed.